Cardinals finish fourth in Urbandale Invite

Newton girls’ golf is swinging into the regular season. They competed in their second meet of the season on Monday in Urbandale at the Urbandale Invite.

The team finished fourth overall at the event behind Ankeny, Valley and Johnston.

Following a rusty performance in the team’s first meet, senior Bailey Kellogg reminded the competition what she is capable of doing. Kellogg came back strong with a plus-10 performance with a 47. Her coach was more than pleased with the senior’s performance.

“Bailey definitely improved. I was really proud of her and the way she was able to rebound off of a difficult outing in the meet last week,” coach Scott Enyart said. “She birdied hole six. That was a shining moment for her. Her ball striking was very much improved. She worked hard on her game over the weekend, and it really paid off.”

The team’s second lowest total came from junior Madeline Wellik, with a 51. Wellik had one of the most interesting rounds imaginable. Golf has a way of reminding a vast majority of people who play it of their humanity. Wellik felt the brunt of this at a few points in Monday’s meet. She drained a 50-foot putt early in her round, but found herself in trouble later on. On hole seven, a par-5, Wellik hit her tee shot into the woods and ended up laying four in the fairway from 140 yards. Of course with her fifth shot, she holed-out from the fairway for par. That, in essence, is the epitome of the sport.

“It was fun, for lack of a better word,” Enyard joked.

Fellow junior Madigan Hillyard shot a 52 with a par on hole two, widely considered the most difficult hole on the golf course.

Rounding out the action for the players who scored was sophomore Shelby Cochran. Cochran shot a 53 with a par on hole number nine. Her round could have gone much differently, however, as the scorecard failed to tell the whole story.

“On one hole Shelby scored a six, but she hit the wrong ball. So, she went back and played another ball and shot a seven,” Enyart said. “They then added the two-stroke penalty, putting her at a nine. On another hole, it took her three shots to get out of the sand. So, really she could have easily scored six strokes better than she did. I’m proud of her for not letting those things get to her out there, because she still played really well.”

The Cardinal players who didn’t score were freshman Jessica Reynolds, who medaled in the team’s first meet. She shot a 58 on Monday. Also, junior Carrie Cunningham shot a non-counting 57.

All-in-all, coach Enyart was pleased with the effort out of his team.

“It was a good day for us,” Enyart said. “There were more bright spots today than at this meet last year. We were 20 strokes better this year. Factor in the fact that we still haven’t had nearly the practice time that we had at this point last year. The girls are doing a really good job. Everybody has scored now, and I think they’re going to post some good scores this season.”

The Cardinals’ season continues on Tuesday against Pella Christian and Knoxville at Westwood Golf Course in Newton.